Decatur Square Getting Its New Lawn in April

As reported in this month’s Decatur Focus – which is not yet online – the city will being a complete renovation of the south lawn of Decatur Square starting next month.

The circa 1970s lawn is in rough shape and requires a complete overhaul to make the area amenable to grass. According to the Focus…

The work this spring will remove the soil down to the top of the MARTA station, which is only about 18 inches below the surface. Drain lines will be repaired and a new irrigation system installed. A gravel drain bed will be added, a special compact-resistant soil mix used and a hardy turf laid that can stand up to high traffic.

According to the newsletter, the result will be something akin to an athletic field and should allow for better drainage than the standing pools of water that loiter there now after a heavy rain.

New trees will also be planted, including some near the wonderful, large concrete air vent for the MARTA station below.

As a result of construction, all festivals this year are working to accommodate no lawn usage this year. Case in point – on the next page of the Focus – the Easter Egg Hunt on March 31st is moving to Fist Baptist’s front lawn this year.

+1. Creating a permanent performance stage at the far east end of the plaza (as opposed to the west, as Nick suggests) would be better suited to a wider variety of performance types, allow performers to actually face and engage the whole of their audience, save wear and tear on the lawn, give the plaza a much stronger sense of actual purpose (other than “open space”), provide a nice focal point to the end of the plaza and, in removing the gazebo, restore the long view of the Courthouse as you come down McDonough (which is in line for a major overhaul anyways).

Lots of solid reasons for it, which should ensure that it never happens. 🙂

The gazebo structure could be removed, leaving the concrete base. This would remove the visual disruption to the courthouse facade, and provide a permanent stage that would allow performers to orient their performances to the plaza.